Investors Appear Satisfied With China Life Insurance Company Limited's (HKG:2628) Prospects As Shares Rocket 44%

China Life Insurance Company Limited (HKG:2628) shareholders have had their patience rewarded with a 44% share price jump in the last month. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 33% in the last year.

After such a large jump in price, given close to half the companies in Hong Kong have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 9x, you may consider China Life Insurance as a stock to avoid entirely with its 17.1x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

China Life Insurance hasn't been tracking well recently as its declining earnings compare poorly to other companies, which have seen some growth on average. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think this poor earnings performance will turn the corner. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Check out our latest analysis for China Life Insurance

Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on China Life Insurance will help you uncover what's on the horizon.

Does Growth Match The High P/E?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like China Life Insurance's to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 40%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 59% in total over the last three years. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 31% each year as estimated by the analysts watching the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 12% per annum, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we can see why China Life Insurance is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Final Word

The strong share price surge has got China Life Insurance's P/E rushing to great heights as well. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

As we suspected, our examination of China Life Insurance's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for China Life Insurance you should know about.

You might be able to find a better investment than China Life Insurance. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.